{"value"=>"<p>The series contains correspondence, biographical material, scrapbooks, scripts, clippings, drafts, and agreements for her 1971 book, <span class=\"title\">Nat King Cole: An Intimate Biography</span>, as well as scores. Of particular significance in the Personal papers subseries are records and correspondence from her first marriage to Spurgeon N. Ellington, a decorated Tuskegee airman who was killed in a domestic airplane crash in 1945 following his return from overseas service in World War II. There is also a program and clippings from her third marriage in 1969 to producer Gary M. Devore, four years after Cole's untimely death. The series contains numerous telegrams and letters congratulating her on her return to performing in 1955 and again in 1965. Other correspondence discusses her various philanthropic endeavors, particularly raising funds for cancer research; membership on the Massachusetts Council on Arts after her move from California to Massachusetts; travels; political activities, including support for Gov. Michael Dukakis; and her efforts to preserve Cole's legacy. The Writings subseries contains material for her biography of Cole, published in 1971, including proposals, contracts, edited typescripts, and publicity material.</p> <p>The Scrapbooks subseries contain two scrapbooks which are devoted to Maria Cole's life and career. \"This Is My Wife\" contains her 1938 yearbook from the Palmer Memorial Institute in North Carolina, a school for African Americans founded by her aunt Charlotte Hawkins Brown (which Maria Cole was instrumental in preserving as an historic site in the 1980s), and clippings about Brown. Photos and clippings from the Coles' 1948 wedding, certificates and awards, a program from Nat's funeral service, and a script for one of Maria's shows are also included. Another scrapbook follows Maria's life from 1945 to 1968. It contains clippings, photographs, and correspondence about her wedding, including letters from Hattie McDaniel and Hazel Scott Powell. There are also clippings, good luck telegrams, and a program from the 1965 Broadway production of James Baldwin's <span class=\"title\">Amen Corner</span>, which Maria co-produced; clippings about Maria's various philanthropic efforts and Cole's death; and articles, letters, and photographs concerning Maria's second return to show business in 1965. The scrapbook also includes letters on various topics from political figures, including Robert F. Kennedy, George Romney, Hubert H. Humphrey, William W. Scranton, Robert Weaver, Edmund Muskie, Richard M. Nixon, and Carl Stokes.</p> <p>The Scores subseries contain five boxes of arrangements from her return to show business in 1955 and in 1965. Among the arrangers who worked with Maria were Pete King, Pete Rugolo, Nelson Riddle, Gerald Wilson, Charles Sanford, and Sid Feller. There are no scores dating from her days as a vocalist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra in the 1940s.</p>"}